< Zechariah 1 >
1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,
Katika mwezi wa nane mwaka wa pili wa kutawala kwake Dario, neno la Yahwe lilimjia nabii Zekaria, mwana wa Berekia mwana wa Ido, kusema,
2 The Lord has been very angry with your fathers:
“Yawhe alikuwa na hasira sana juu ya baba zenu!
3 And you are to say to them, These are the words of the Lord of armies: Come back to me, says the Lord of armies, and I will come back to you.
Wambie, 'Yahwe wa majeshi asema hivi: Nirudieni! - nami nitawarudia ninyi, asema Yahwe wa majeshi.
4 Be not like your fathers, to whom the voice of the earlier prophets came, saying, Be turned now from your evil ways and from your evil doings: but they did not give ear to me or take note, says the Lord.
Msiwe kama baba zenu ambao hapo zamani manabii waliwambia, wakisema, “Yahwe wa majeshi asema hivi: Geukeni kutoka katika njia zenu za mbaya na matendo yenu mabaya!” Lakini hawakuweza kusikia wala kunijari - asema Yahwe.'
5 Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they go on living for ever?
Wako wapi baba zenu? Na manabii, je wapo hapa daima?
6 But my words and my orders, which I gave to my servants the prophets, have they not overtaken your fathers? and turning back they said, As it was the purpose of the Lord of armies to do to us, in reward for our ways and our doings, so has he done.
Lakini maneno yangu na maagizo niliyowaamru watumishi wangu manabii, je hayakuwapata baba zenu? Hivyo walitubu na kusema, 'Kama vile Yahwe wa majeshi alivyokusudia kututenda kwa kadili zinavyostahili njia na matendo yetu, ndivyo alivyotutenda.”
7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,
Katika siku ya ishirini na nne ya mwezi wa kumi na moja, ndiyo mwezi wa Shebati, mwaka wa pili wa utawala wa Dario, neno la Yahwe lilimjia nabii Zekaria mwana wa Berekia mwana wa Ido, akasema,
8 I saw in the night a man on a red horse, between the mountains in the valley, and at his back were horses, red, black, white, and of mixed colours.
“niliona wakati wa usiku, na tazama! mtu alikuwa amepanda farasi mwekundu, naye alikuwa kati ya miti ya mihadasi iliyoko bondeni; na nyuma yake kulikuwa na farasi mwekundu, farasi wa kijivu, na farasi mweupe.”
9 Then I said, O my lord, what are these? And the angel who was talking to me said to me, I will make clear to you what they are.
Nikauliza, “Bwana, hivi ni vitu gani?” Malaika aliyesema nami akaniambia, “Nitakueleza vitu hivi ni nini.”
10 And the man who was between the mountains, answering me, said, These are those whom the Lord has sent to go up and down through the earth.
Kisha mtu aliyesimama kati ya miti ya mihadasi akajibu na kusema, “Hawa ndiyo Yahwe aliowatuma kuzunguka katika dunia yote.”
11 And the man who was between the mountains, answering, said to the angel of the Lord, We have gone up and down through the earth, and all the earth is quiet and at rest.
Wakamjibu malaika wa Yahwe aliyekuwa amesimama kati ya miti ya mihadasi na kumwambia, “Tumekuwa tukizunguka duniani pote; tazama, dunia yote imekaa na kutulia.”
12 Then the angel of the Lord, answering, said, O Lord of armies, how long will it be before you have mercy on Jerusalem and on the towns of Judah against which your wrath has been burning for seventy years?
Ndipo malaika wa Yahwe alipojibu na kusema, “Yahwe wa majeshi, hata lini usiuhurumie Yerusalemu na miji ya Yuda ambayo imeteswa na kudhurumiwa miaka hii sabini?”
13 And the Lord gave an answer in good and comforting words to the angel who was talking to me.
Yahwe akamjibu malaika aliyekuwa amesema nami, kwa maneno mazuri, maneno ya faraja.
14 And the angel who was talking to me said to me, Let your voice be loud and say, These are the words of the Lord of armies: I am greatly moved about the fate of Jerusalem and of Zion.
Hivyo malaika aliyekuwa anaongea nami akaniambia, “Ita kwa sauti na useme 'Yahwe wa majeshi asema: Nina wivu kwa ajili ya Yerusalemu yaani Sayuni kwa uchungu mkubwa!
15 And I am very angry with the nations who are living untroubled: for when I was only a little angry, they made the evil worse.
Nami nina hasira juu ya mataifa yaliyo na utulivu. Kwa maana nilikasirika kidogo tu, lakini wao wakasababisha madhara mabaya.
16 So this is what the Lord has said: I have come back to Jerusalem with mercies; my house is to be put up in her, says the Lord of armies, and a line is to be stretched out over Jerusalem.
Kwa hiyo Yahwe wa majeshi asema hivi: Nimeirudia Yerusalema kwa huruma. Hivyo nyumba yangu itajengwa ndani yake - asema Yahwe wa majeshi. Kipimo kitanyoshwa juu ya Yerusalemu!
17 And again let your voice be loud and say, This is what the Lord of armies has said: My towns will again be overflowing with good things, and again the Lord will give comfort to Zion and take Jerusalem for himself.
Ita tena, ukisema, 'Yahwe wa majeshi asema hivi: Miji yangu kwa mara nyingine itajawa na uzuri, na Yahwe ataifariji tena Sayuni, na kuichagua Yerusalemu kwa mara nyingine tena.”
18 And lifting up my eyes I saw four horns.
Kisha nikainua macho na kuona pembe nne!
19 And I said to the angel who was talking to me, What are these? And he said to me, These are the horns which have sent Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem in flight.
Nikaongea na malaika aliyesema nami, “Hivi ni vitu gani? Akanijibu “hizi ni pembe zilisosababisha kutawanyika kwa Yuda, Israeli, na Yerusalemu.”
20 And the Lord gave me a vision of four metal-workers.
Kisha Yahwe akanionesha mafundi stadi wanne.
21 Then I said, What have these come to do? And he said, These are the horns which sent Judah in flight, and kept him from lifting up his head: but these men have come to send fear on them and to put down the nations who are lifting up their horns against the land of Judah to send it in flight.
Nikasema, “Watu hawa wanakuja kufanya nini?” Akajibu na kusema, “Hizi ni pembe zililoitawanya Yuda na hakuna mtu angeweza kuinua kichwa chake. Lakini watu hawa wanakuja kuziondoa, kutupa chini pembe za mataifa yaliyoinua nguvu zao kinyume cha nchi ya Yuda na kuisambaza.”